Researchers Have Uncovered New Android Malware That Can Steal Your Banking Password

Catherine Harris

By Catherine Harris

Published:

When it comes to online security, one of the areas we all worry about the most is keeping our online banking accounts safe. For a lot of people, having their bank accounts hacked is a nightmare scenario.

Unfortunately, it seems that security researchers have recently found a trojan malware that specifically targets users of mainstream banking apps and cryptocurrency wallets on the Android OS.

Not just another opportunistic attack…

Known as ‘EventBot’, the malware appears to be much more professional in nature when compared to similar malicious software we’ve seen exploit Android in the past. According to the research team at CyberReason that discovered the malware, this is different in that it seems the developer spent a lot of time and effort in creating something sophisticated and well-polished.

But it’s not all ‘style-over-substance’ – this piece of software has a devastating impact on it’s victims. It works primarily by presenting itself as a legitimate app such as Microsoft Word to gain its victim’s trust. Once installed on a user’s device and granted certain permissions, it acts as a keylogger – constantly recording everything inputted into the device and keeping an eye out for banking apps that it can monitor.

EventBot targets some of the most widely used banking and crypto apps available on the market currently including Paypal Business, Revolut, Barclays, HSBC, Santander and Coinbase.

Once it finds information from a user’s device, it sends it back to a remote database for hackers to use as they see fit. Something worth pointing out here is that because EventBot can read notifications and text messages, even advanced security features such as two-factor authentication can be easily bypassed.

As it stands, nobody really knows for certain where EventBot has come from or who created the malware. It contains highly complex encryption which is currently preventing researchers from discovering any more information than is already known.

The takeaway here according to security experts is that users shouldn’t be downloading apps from third-party app stores or should at the very least be exercising extreme caution.

Currently the software has yet to rear its ugly head on the official Google Play Store – although researchers aren’t completely ruling it out, especially given the history of the platform.

How to protect yourself against this potentially devastating hack.

The good news is that, along with ensuring you are only downloading trusted apps from trusted sources, we’ve developed a mobile security app called Certo Mobile Security. This app is specifically designed to help Android users protect themselves against attacks exactly like EventBot.

Our software can help you automate your protection, by regularly performing scans on your device and removing any malicious and potentially dangerous software that it detects.

You can learn more and get started using Certo Mobile Security for FREE today by clicking below.

Cover Image by Freepik